Christmas In Retail
by ConversationKiller111
Summary: Killian Jones does his Christmas shopping at Target, where Emma Swan just so happens to work as a cashier. When an angry customer gives Emma a hard time, Killian cheers her up. One shot.


Just when Killian thought the day couldn't get any worse, a woman's coupon expired.

He liked to think of himself as a man with a deep, _deep_ well of patience, but on that particular day in that particular store in that particular line, he felt ready to lose it. The woman-older by the look of it and wearing too much bronzer-just couldn't seem to accept the fact that she wouldn't be getting her discount. Her perfectly manicured nails tapped against the register to a beat only she could understand as she heaved out two impatient, angry sighs. Killian could practically _see_ the fury radiating from her in waves and internally groaned. Great. Just what he needed.

The poor cashier-Emma, so her name tag read-was obviously frustrated as she tried every method possible to get the coupon to work. No matter how many times she told the borderline insane customer that it was expired, the woman just shook her head and insisted that it _wasn't._ When it got to the point that she made Emma call her manager over, Killian felt about ready to strangle her. Judging by the faces of the many people behind him, they were thinking the same thing.

Even when the _manager_ stated that the coupon was expired, the customer _still_ refused to believe her. "I'll just go to another line," she hissed and then glared at Emma. "Thanks for nothing."

The cashier gave her a tight lipped smile. "Merry Christmas."

By the time Killian finally- _finally_ -got all of his groceries on the belt, nearly a half hour had passed. Walking over to the card reader, he pulled out his wallet and then glanced up at Emma. "You didn't deserve that, love," he assured, grabbing his debit card. "And you handled it well. I probably would have screamed at her."

The cashier laughed as she rang up his items. "Trust me: I was _this close_ to doing that."

He smirked and inserted the card into the chip reader. "I promise: I won't give you any trouble. No coupons, no problem."

She totaled the amount he owed and reiterated it back to him. He paid and gathered the bags of items into his cart, pushing it toward the exit. "Have a great day, lass."

.

.

.

.

He was back in the store not two days later, having forgotten a few crucial supplies for the week. He didn't need a shopping basket this time and he knew exactly what he wanted before he walked through the doors, but nevertheless, he found himself pulling things from the shelves like they were on sale (which they _weren't_ ). With his arms full, he moved toward the final aisle, the one that contained what he'd originally needed: pens. By the time he reached it, many of his items threatened to fall to the floor, and he internally groaned. Came into the store for one thing, then two hundred dollars later, he'd come out with at least ten.

He was surprised to see the same cashier from before, Emma if he remembered correctly, organizing and stocking the shelf. She glanced over at him when she heard him approach and, upon seeing how he was struggling, immediately grabbed a basket and practically threw it at him. He dumped his items into it just in time-any longer and they would've fallen out of his arms. Breathing a sigh of relief, Killian looked up at his savior and smiled. "Fancy seeing you here, lass."

She grinned back at him and shook her head. "Back so soon?"

"Aye. Forgot something important, but as you can see, I might have gone a little overboard."

"It happens," she said with a shrug and turned her attention back to the shelf. "What are you looking for?"

He thought for a moment. "Pens," he eventually stuttered, flushing a deep shade of scarlet. "Point five gel."

Emma found them within seconds and handed them to him. "Looks like you got the last one. C'mon. I can ring you up at the front."

As they walked toward the check lanes, they chatted about the holidays-and their lack of plans for them. By the time they reached the register, Killian had almost forgotten that he was supposed to pay for the pens. As Emma scanned all of his items, he watched the total climb higher and higher until it almost reached three hundred dollars. So much for budgeting.

"Two seventy-eight," Emma announced. "But do you know about the store's promotion?"

Killian shook his head. "Afraid I don't."

"Let's just say you had the coupon with you," the cashier murmured with a smirk and scanned a bar code. "Two _sixty_ -eight."

"You don't have t-" Killian began, but was cut off.

"Consider it a thank you for the other day." Emma met his eyes fearlessly. "You didn't give me any trouble... and your comment? About how I didn't deserve what that customer did to me? It made me feel better."

"It was the truth, lass... I'm glad I could help."

The cashier raised her eyebrows and handed him his receipt. "Yeah? Wanna keep helping? Take me out for a coffee later on. My lunch is in about five minutes."

The request should've caught him off guard, but instead, he found himself smiling. "You've got yourself a deal." He glanced to the side, over at the Starbucks at the front of the store. "Last I checked, the Holiday Blend is in. Sound alright to you?"

Emma grinned. "Sounds perfect. But one thing: you know my name-kinda hard not to when the tag gives it away. Only fair that I know yours."

Killian raised an eyebrow. "Now where's the fun in that, lass? But you win. Name's Killian." He took his receipt and returned her smile. "Merry Christmas, Emma. I'll see you in a few."


End file.
